Last One Standing
by Fiona Rokkar
Summary: Oneshot. On the anniversary of when the battle against Hades ended over 200 years ago, Dohko thinks about and misses his friend. Shion didn’t die in the war. He died because he stood in Ares’ way of killing Athena when she was a baby.


A/N: For Saint Seiya I will sometimes write a oneshot or songfic for a Saint's "birthday". October 20th is Dohko's.

Summary: On the anniversary of when the battle against Hades ended over 200 years ago, Dohko thinks about and misses his friend. Shion didn't die in the war. He died because he stood in Ares' way of killing Athena when she was a baby.

**Saint Seiya: Last One Standing**

The Saint of Libra, Dohko, stood at the entrance to the 12 Houses and gazed at the Aries Temple. It has been a very long time, over 250 years, since he was last here. No, that is not correct. He was here not long ago to face off with his old friend, the former Aries Saint, Shion, when Shion was revived for 12 hours by Hades. Hades has since been defeated which relieves Dohko of his duty to watch the seal over Hades in China. Coming back to Sanctuary brings up a lot of old memories of the previous battle with Hades, the one in which only he and Shion survived.

Dohko turned and looked at the setting sun. He smiled briefly, remembering the sunset in which he and Shion were the only ones alive to see it. He had remarked how beautiful it was and his friend, whom he supported, agreed. That day… the anniversary of it is today. Mu, Shion's pupil who is the current Aries Saint, seems to understand that Dohko has a lot of memories with Shion. He hasn't disturbed him since Dohko arrived in Sanctuary, no one has. He is thankful for it, it gives him time to remember his close friend. Sitting down on one of the overturned pillars left over from the battle with Hades, Dohko thought back to the time when all of the Gold Saints he knew best were still alive and peace was still around them. However, it was he who said it would not last.

_Two Gold Saints, the Saint of Aries and the Saint of Libra, stand outside the Aries Temple, watching the sun's last rays fade from Sanctuary. Shion, the Aries Saint, is smiling because this is a time of peace. However, his friend Dohko, the Libra Saint, isn't smiling. He knows peace cannot last and it worries him. They have been at peace for too long. Something and someone is going to show up and return to fight Athena. When it happens, they must be ready. However, no one will be. They have all settled into the comfort of peace by now and no one wants to think about it ending._

"_Dohko, what is the matter? You have not said a word all evening." Shion said, turning to face his friend._

"_I am worried Shion. You know as well as I do that this cannot last."_

"_This? You mean peace? Accept it Dohko! You seem to be the only one who thinks something bad is always going to happen."_

"_I cannot, Shion. Something in my gut keeps telling me that something terrible is going to happen, and soon. I will not be unprepared for it."_

_Shion sighed, not knowing how to get Dohko to admit that peace has finally come to stay. When he insists on something, he can be as stubborn as an Aries. Both Saints turned to the sound of laughter when they watched the young Cancer Saint and her boyfriend, the Pisces Saint, run off after each other. When they take a good look at where they are, it looks like paradise. All of the Gold Saints have formed close bonds with each other and some have even fallen in love. The Cancer/Pisces couple is only one of a few. Dohko spoke again, breaking Shion's train of thought._

"_You should tell Taila how you feel, Shion."_

"_What? But…"_

"_If we truly are in a time of peace, there is no better time. If I am right, then I would tell her now before it is too late." He said, patting his friend on the shoulder._

_The girl of whom Dohko spoke is the Virgo Saint. She and Shion have been flirting back and forth for years. Many of the others wish that they would just admit how they felt. The Scorpio Saint, Dillion, has told them in his blunt way that they need to fuck and be done with it. Shion shook his head. He doesn't care what everyone else says. He can't. She is so… pure and innocent. How can he taint something so beautiful with his sinful desires?_

Dohko shook his head, trying to clear it. He has never been one to give into his depressing thoughts even when things were... at their worst. Finally he sighed heavily. Perhaps today is the day to revisit the graves of his fallen friends whom he fought alongside during his first battle with Hades. Standing up, Dohko headed in the direction of the Virgo Temple, there is something he wishes to ask of Shaka before heading to the graveyard. When he arrived at the Virgo Temple, Shaka was meditating as always. Sensing Dohko, he stopped and stood up.

"Dohko, what can I do for you?" He asked

"Shaka I would like to… place flowers on one of the graves of a dear friend of mine." He said

"You are welcome to pick them from my garden." Shaka said softly

"Thank you." Dohko replied as he headed out towards the garden.

Soon after he had gathered a few flowers from Shaka's garden, Dohko headed to the graveyard of Gold Saints. He walked through the generations of Saint graves, until he reached the generation he was born into. The graves before him are the resting place of 10 of his comrades. Dohko and Shion were the only two to survive their battle with Hades. He knelt down and gently touched the gravestone with the Virgo symbol and under the symbol was the name Taila. She became a Gold Saint at an early age. The rest were 17 or 18 but Taila was hardly 15. She was the first to die and it only made it worse because she was so innocent and sweet. Shion was the one who witnessed her death and sensing Shion's cosmos flare and attack was what called Dohko to her Temple that day.

"You were hardly more than a child Taila… so sweet and innocent. Perhaps it is that which held his tongue on how he felt. It was… your death that marked the beginning of the end for us." He said softly as he placed a flower on her grave.

_Dohko looked up when he felt a chance in Taila's cosmos. It was… fading? He knew there was trouble when Shion's flared up in the way everyone's does when they use their full power to attack. Dohko ran out of his temple, summoning his cloth to him as he did. He knew that something had happened and however long it took him to get there, the worse it would be. Finally, after only a few minutes, Dohko ran into the Virgo Temple. When he reached the main room, he slid to a halt. There, on the floor, lay Taila and Shion was bent over her with his shoulders shaking._

"…_Shion?"_

"_She's gone Dohko. Gone!"_

"_I know Shion, I know…" Dohko, like everyone else, had felt Taila's cosmos fade completely. Soon the Virgo Temple will be full of the other Gold Saints and Athena. "What happened?"_

"_She asked me to come visit her tonight. She said there was something she wanted to tell me. When I got here… A specter had shown up. I arrived at the wrong time because my arrival distracted her for a split second. And in that second, he landed a fatal blow to her. I didn't even think as I killed him." Shion said, struggling to keep his voice from breaking. "Before… before she died, Taila told me she loved me. I never… got the chance to tell her that I love her."_

_Dohko gripped Shion's shoulder, knowing that it must be killing him right now. He doesn't understand the pain from experience so he can only sympathize with Shion. _

"_Shion, the others are coming. Do you want them to see you like this?" He asked. _

_Shion didn't reply. He stood up and burned his cosmos brightly, calling the cloth of Aries to him. Kneeling down, he gently picked up Taila. In some way, he is glad that she is the first one to die. It spared her the pain of the battles to come. Taila never wanted to fight, even when she knew she had to. He walked over to where Taila would sit and meditate. Instead of putting her down, he sat down in a meditating position and held her in his lap. _

_Dohko sighed. Whatever Shion is going through… he only hopes that his friend can overcome it enough to be able to fight the rest of the specters that are soon to come. Walking over to the falling specter, Dohko nudged him over so that he could see his face. Shion had really done a number on him._

"_Shion! Dohko!"_

_Dohko and Shion looked up at the voice of their Goddess. Athena walked into the Virgo Temple followed by the rest of the Gold Saints. All of them are wearing their cloths because they know another battle is about to begin. Upon seeing Taila, everyone reacted differently. The few girls looked sick to their stomach and the boys grimaced. Athena just looked sad. She walked over to Shion and knelt down. After touching Taila's face, she looked at him._

"_How?" That one word from Athena was like a command but Shion couldn't answer it. Dohko kicked the specter again, drawing everyone's attention to him._

"_It is Hades, Athena." Shion said finally._

"Dohko…"

He spun around to see who had spoken his name but he was still alone. He could have sworn… No, he must be imagining things. He thought he had heard Feiya, the Leo Saint of his time. But that's impossible; she is dead like the others. There is a secret he has never told anyone, not even Shion. He loved Feiya. He thought about admitting it to her too late. By the time he was going to, they were at war with Hades and it was not the time to be confessing his love for her. It would have clouded her judgment. In a fight like that, a Saint must only think of protecting Athena.

His hands shook as he placed the remaining flowers he'd picked from Shaka's garden on Feiya's grave. Being here, among the graves of his friends, is extremely hard. His fingers traced gently over the Leo symbol of Feiya's grave. Dohko closed his eyes, trying to find the strength to not let it get to him that he had found all those years ago when Feiya saved his life. It was his place in death that she took.

_Dohko was locked in combat with one of Hades' powerful specters when a ball of fire hit him from the side, sending him flying. Turning around, Dohko saw the Leo Saint Feiya running towards him. Her cloth is broken in places but she's still got a smile on her face. She's always smiling, even at war…_

"_Let me take care of him Dohko." She said_

_Before he could reply, the specter, whom Dohko hadn't even cared to catch a name for, got to his feet. Refusing to let Feiya be hit by an attack when she was unprepared, he shielded her with one of the two shields that make up his cloth. The attack shattered it. _

"_I can't let you do this Feiya. He is too strong for you." He told her_

"_Athena needs you! You must protect her." Feiya replied_

"_You won't… You're not strong enough!"_

"_It matters not. Let me take him down with me. Please Dohko, just go. Fight with all of your strength until this is all over. I know you can do it!" She insisted_

"…_Thank you Feiya. I will never forget this." He said finally_

_She smiled before giving him a slight nod. When she took up her stance that was one of her strongest fire attacks, Dohko knew it was time to go. He clenched his fists as he turned his back on Feiya and ran from the room. The last thing he heard was burned into his memory forever._

"_Blazing Inferno!!"_

He turned and looked back towards the Aries Temple, remembering the time when Shion lived there. He and Shion survived Hades attack and helped Athena seal him away for 250 years. When it was all over, they were hardly alive, much less able to stand. It was then that Shion wondered something as they slowly made their way back to Sanctuary. Who would finally be the last one of their generation to still be standing? In the years past, Shion and Dohko would bet on just about anything. But this… it was something Dohko refused to bet on. He didn't want to think about losing Shion when they had already lost so much.

"We once wondered who would be left standing alone after all of this was over, Shion. Well it looks like it's me. I'll tell you… it isn't all that great. Athena is safe and I am no longer needed to watch over the seal she once put on Hades. I miss all of you guys, my friends who I fought beside against Hades the first time. When all is said and done, I'm the last one standing."

_Fin_


End file.
